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| coberst |
 Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:03 am Post subject: Cyber bullying: Technology and McLuhan |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 18 Feb 2007
Posts: 319
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Cyber bullying: Technology and McLuhan
The cruel mob pursued 13 year old Megan Meier through our high tech “social networking site MySpace and called Megan a liar, a fat ***** and worse”.
McLuhan has stated that all technology is an extension of a human faculty. The ‘bomb is an extension of the fist’ is a simple example.
“The Medium is The Message” is the phrase that made Marshall McLuhan famous. It is a phrase most of us, young and old, have heard. Until recently this was a mysterious phrase that left me speechless.
Megan, 13, fought back, but she was overwhelmed.
Let’s get very fundamental here and go back to the invention of the alphabet to understand what McLuhan is talking about and why it is important.
“The Greek myth about the alphabet was that Cadmus, reputedly the king who introduced the phonetic letters into Greece, sowed dragoon’s teeth, and they sprang up armed men. Like any other myth, this one capsulates a prolonged process into a flashing insight. The alphabet meant power and authority and control of military structures at a distance. When combined with papyrus, the alphabet spelled the end of the stationary temple bureaucracies and the priestly monopolies of knowledge and power.”
“The phonetic alphabet is a unique technology…This stark division and parallelism between a visual and an auditory world was both crude and ruthless, culturally speaking. The phonetically written sacrifices worlds of meaning and perception that were secured by forms like the hieroglyphs and the Chinese ideogram. These culturally richer forms of writing, however, offered men no means of sudden transfer from the magically discontinuous and traditional world of the tribal word into the cool and uniform visual medium.”
“All of these forms [pictographic and hieroglyphic] give pictorial expression to oral meanings. As such, they approximate the animated cartoon and are extremely unwieldy, requiring many signs for the infinity of data operations of social action. In contrast, the phonetic alphabet, by a few letters only, was able to encompass all languages.”
“She felt there was no way out,” Ms. Meier said.
Consider the invention of the printing press and the introduction of books to the society. A book communicates a message. Many books communicate many messages. ‘The book’ communicates the same message to everyone who comes into contact with the book. The book transmits the same message to everyone while many books transmit many different messages to many different people.
Evolution moves very slowly. We adapt to our environment very slowly. We survive because we do adapt. When we change more quickly than we can adapt we face problems that we have not had the time to make the kind of adjustments necessary.
The habits we acquire determine our state of mind. Our changing habits are part of this process of adaptation to our environment. Do not think of environment as being just the quality of our air or water but it is a broad term signifying the world we live in.
So we have changed very dramatically our habits that were part of us when we knew little and understood much. I am speaking relatively here. What happens to us as a result of this dramatic change? I do not know but I only point to the fact as worth consideration.
Examine how we sit and watch TV for several hours everyday. When we watch TV we are constantly being transported perceptively from one scene to another. Think for a minute if instead of sitting and watching TV we were physically escorted done a hallway with many doors. Then we open a door and are physically placed into this world we see on TV. Our reaction would be very different. In other words we are creatures prepared for a certain world that no longer exists. This is the definition of a forthcoming extinction if we think about the meaning of evolution.
“Mom, they’re being horrible!” Megan said, “sobbing into the phone when her mother called. After an hour, Megan ran into her bedroom and hanged herself with a belt.”
Has our technology become our master? I think so.
This story about Megan by Christopher Maag, “When the Bullies Turned Faceless” was published in the December 17 edition of the NYTimes.
What did the little bird say to the big bird?
Peck on someone your own size. |
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| sunshinewarrior |
| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:05 am Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
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Coberst
I think a more interesting analysis might take the point of view that Megan (from what you say) was so socially sensitive that she was unable to ignore words on a site she didn't have to visit. Why is it that so many people have this addiction to company and the consequent strong reaction to others' opinions?
cheer
shanks |
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| coberst |
| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:10 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 18 Feb 2007
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I suspect that technology is like a virus. We must become a good deal more sophisticated intellectually in order to control it rather than having it control us as it now does. We are very good at the kind of reasoning demanded by technology but very inadequate with reasoning required to learn to live together.
Our habits determine our fate to a large extent. Our habits, just like the habits of an athlete will determine success. Our habits prepare us for the now. Now is no time to change habits—habits control what we can or cannot do at the moment action is required. This includes especially our habits of mind. If we do not form an honest mind we will not behave honestly intellectually when the time requires it. This is what CT (Critical Thinking) is partially about. By studying CT we are creating the proper set of intellectual habits that we will guide us in the future. |
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| sunshinewarrior |
| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:26 am Post subject: |
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| Mars |
| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:45 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 26 Jan 2007
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It's just a simple case of ''what happened to good ole natural selection''. These are cases of weak minded individuals incapable of a higher level of understanding and to fall victim to such things like bullying just shows that you will not survive in society and indeed life.
The world is full of too many weak minded fools and idiots in my opinion.
Barry (age 16).
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Thinking of the question is greater than knowing the answer... |
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| Ophiolite |
| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:05 am Post subject: |
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Forum Radioactive Isotope
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 4062
Location: Scotland
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| Barry Flannery wrote: |
| The world is full of too many weak minded fools and idiots in my opinion. |
Almost everyone would agree with this. The disagreements emerge over who goes into this unpopular category.
Volunteers are always welcome. 
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The Universe is not only weirder than we imagine it is weirder than we can imagine. J.B.S.Haldane. |
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| Mars |
| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:53 am Post subject: |
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Forum Sophomore
Joined: 26 Jan 2007
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Well said Ophiolite. I dare to be put in the ''minisculely above average'' group.
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Thinking of the question is greater than knowing the answer... |
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| Minxy |
| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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On Probation
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 283
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| Ophiolite wrote: |
| Barry Flannery wrote: |
| The world is full of too many weak minded fools and idiots in my opinion. |
Almost everyone would agree with this. The disagreements emerge over who goes into this unpopular category.
Volunteers are always welcome. |
Really you people don't seem to have a clue!
Well done and good luck to you Barry for being so super duper and oh so intellectually strong minded at such a tender age!
Young people are vulnerable to peer opinions and bullying whilst they are exploring the idea of themselves and developing an identity.
This stage is fragile. As a person matures and forms a stronger identity they discover they don't need others opinions to feel authentic.
It's people with your attitudes and mentality that encourage cyber bullying.
It's very common for people like you to aggrandize themselves at the expense of others and generalize with sweeping statements that everyone else is weak or backward bar yourself. This is a symptom of low opinion of your very super duper self.
Please learn to be more compassionate with your self as well as others. |
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| Ophiolite |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:59 am Post subject: |
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Forum Radioactive Isotope
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 4062
Location: Scotland
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| Minxy wrote: |
| Ophiolite wrote: |
| Barry Flannery wrote: |
| The world is full of too many weak minded fools and idiots in my opinion. |
Almost everyone would agree with this. The disagreements emerge over who goes into this unpopular category.
Volunteers are always welcome. |
Really you people don't seem to have a clue! |
Minxy, I am perplexed. Does the problem lie with my 'writing between the lines' ability, or with your 'reading between the lines' ability.
My response to Barry - between the lines - read, "Barry, you may think you are the coolest thing on the planet and look down on those who lack your confidence, good looks and subscription to Maxim, but from where I sit you are coming across as an arrogant, anti-social pipsqueak. Don't takt that the wrong way, but please re-examine your thoughts on this issue."
I just thought my gentle phrasing was more appropriate and more likely to generate a positive response. Perhaps not. 
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The Universe is not only weirder than we imagine it is weirder than we can imagine. J.B.S.Haldane. |
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| sunshinewarrior |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:06 am Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 26 Sep 2007
Posts: 837
Location: London
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| Ophiolite wrote: |
| Minxy wrote: |
| Ophiolite wrote: |
| Barry Flannery wrote: |
| The world is full of too many weak minded fools and idiots in my opinion. |
Almost everyone would agree with this. The disagreements emerge over who goes into this unpopular category.
Volunteers are always welcome. |
Really you people don't seem to have a clue! |
Minxy, I am perplexed. Does the problem lie with my 'writing between the lines' ability, or with your 'reading between the lines' ability.
My response to Barry - between the lines - read, "Barry, you may think you are the coolest thing on the planet and look down on those who lack your confidence, good looks and subscription to Maxim, but from where I sit you are coming across as an arrogant, anti-social pipsqueak. Don't takt that the wrong way, but please re-examine your thoughts on this issue."
I just thought my gentle phrasing was more appropriate and more likely to generate a positive response. Perhaps not. |
I thought she was talking to Barry, and making a similar point to the one I tried to make to coberst at the start: the story is about the tragedy of someone whose self-image was, tragically, so bound up with the opinions of others that she killed herself.
The compliments to Barry were, perhaps, then meant ironically. No? |
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| Ophiolite |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Forum Radioactive Isotope
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 4062
Location: Scotland
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| sunshinewarrio wrote: |
I thought she was talking to Barry, and making a similar point to the one I tried to make to coberst at the start: the story is about the tragedy of someone whose self-image was, tragically, so bound up with the opinions of others that she killed herself.
The compliments to Barry were, perhaps, then meant ironically. No? |
She did say 'you people', so I took the plural to include me.
I really must hone my irony - I wasn't complimenting Barry I was tryin, gently, to show him that almost everyone puts a portion (sometimes a large portion) of humanity into boxes labelled 'stupid' 'dull' 'ignorant' 'undesirable'. It's what enabled the nazis to run death camps. But all of us will find ourselves in one of those boxes labelled by some individual or group.
I was further suggesting that by the insensitivity of Barry's views he had volunteered to place himself in a box labelled "Self centred, callous bastard".
Should I be more direct? It's just so ....rude. 
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The Universe is not only weirder than we imagine it is weirder than we can imagine. J.B.S.Haldane. |
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| 425 Chaotic Requisition |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:07 am Post subject: |
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The Doctor
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 2684
Location: UKGBNI, England, Derbyshire
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| Ophiolite wrote: |
| sunshinewarrio wrote: |
I thought she was talking to Barry, and making a similar point to the one I tried to make to coberst at the start: the story is about the tragedy of someone whose self-image was, tragically, so bound up with the opinions of others that she killed herself.
The compliments to Barry were, perhaps, then meant ironically. No? |
She did say 'you people', so I took the plural to include me.
I really must hone my irony - I wasn't complimenting Barry I was tryin, gently, to show him that almost everyone puts a portion (sometimes a large portion) of humanity into boxes labelled 'stupid' 'dull' 'ignorant' 'undesirable'. It's what enabled the nazis to run death camps. But all of us will find ourselves in one of those boxes labelled by some individual or group.
I was further suggesting that by the insensitivity of Barry's views he had volunteered to place himself in a box labelled "Self centred, callous bastard".
Should I be more direct? It's just so ....rude. |
We all have the potential to heal the world, or destroy it. The only thing that puts us either way is each other. So you tell me how to treat someone and which way that a person will go.
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"There is no knowledge, that is not power" - Ralph Waldo Emerson. |
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| sunshinewarrior |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:38 am Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 26 Sep 2007
Posts: 837
Location: London
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| Ophiolite wrote: |
| sunshinewarrio wrote: |
I thought she was talking to Barry, and making a similar point to the one I tried to make to coberst at the start: the story is about the tragedy of someone whose self-image was, tragically, so bound up with the opinions of others that she killed herself.
The compliments to Barry were, perhaps, then meant ironically. No? |
She did say 'you people', so I took the plural to include me.
I really must hone my irony - I wasn't complimenting Barry I was tryin, gently, to show him that almost everyone puts a portion (sometimes a large portion) of humanity into boxes labelled 'stupid' 'dull' 'ignorant' 'undesirable'. It's what enabled the nazis to run death camps. But all of us will find ourselves in one of those boxes labelled by some individual or group.
I was further suggesting that by the insensitivity of Barry's views he had volunteered to place himself in a box labelled "Self centred, callous bastard".
Should I be more direct? It's just so ....rude. |
I got that. Fear not: you are not destined to be misunderstood by everybody, all the time - but some of the people, some of the time? That's just the way that perfectly elastic Catholic cookie bounces in the crumbly woods.... |
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| KALSTER |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:32 am Post subject: |
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Forum Professor
Joined: 08 Sep 2007
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Location: South Africa
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I think Minxy has demonstrated herself perfectly capable of noticing subtleties and euphemisms, she merely does not know you well enough yet to know you are a utilizer of such tactics. In relation to Barry’s post, he will hopefully learn that a society entirely consisting of, allegedly, his caliber members is neither possible, nor desirable. A wide variety of personality types are necessary for a successful society.
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"Gullibility kills" - Carl Sagan |
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| marnixR |
| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:38 am Post subject: |
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Forum Cosmic Wizard
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 2163
Location: Cardiff, Wales
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| Ophiolite wrote: |
| Volunteers are always welcome. |
sorry - did anyone call for volunteers ?
i don't understand electricity, women and creationists (not necessarily in that order)
what 'stupid' box does that place me in ?
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biology without evolution is but stamp collecting |
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